THE FOOD OF PARADISE
WHILE GERTRUDE STEIN WAS AMONG THE greatest American novelists and modern art collectors of her generation and in the thriving avant-garde landscape of Paris, her lifelong partner Alice B. Toklas is widely known for a different thing—hash-infused edibles, to be precise. Stein was an outspoken pro-immigration feminist, constantly pushing gay and lesbian rights early in history, and Toklas loyally stood by her side until the end. After Stein’s death, Toklas wanted to publish her own book.
The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, published in 1954, introduced generations of cannabis consumers to edibles—gaining significantly in popularity in America during the late ’60s. The infamous “haschich fudge” recipe more resembled traditional Middle Eastern goodies than American fudge, and it introduced people in the United States and Europe to cannabis-infused edibles. The cannabis-infused recipe was omitted from the first pressing in the US, but inevitably burrowed its way into American pop culture.
The success of The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book made Toklas’ name synonymous with cannabis edibles—whether she planned for that association or not. Toklas and Stein’s life is by no means ordinary in any sense: As Jewish lesbians, living for years in Nazi-occupied France, it’s a wonder they even survived.
Toklas and her celebrity lover were pioneers in many senses. The US Supreme Court struck down state laws banning gay marriage on June 26, 2015. But Stein and Toklas declared themselves married as lesbians in 1910—over 100
